One of the shortcomings of the University of Massachusetts team is its size, but that's not a weakness of defenseman Oleg Yevenko, a 6-foot-7, 225-pound defenseman from Belarus, who is playing for Fargo of the United States Hockey League and is heading to UMass next season.

In 47 games this season, Yevenko has scored four goals and added four assists and is a minus-1. He was 4-5-9 and a plus-13 last year. And it sounds like he's the tough guy UMass needs in front of its own goal. He has compiled 284 penalty minutes in two seasons at Fargo.

Under NCAA regulations, UMass officials could not confirm the verbal commitment since he has not signed a national letter of intent. However, multiple sources, including the Chris Heisenberg recruiting site, and Fear the Triangle, a UMass hockey fan web site, are also reporting the commitment.

The Fargo Force is tied for third place the USHL Western Division with 60 points with Sioux Falls. They are one point out of second, and five points out of first. Fargo hosts Sioux Falls Wednesday night.

Two of Yevenko's goals have come on the power play, but he is not considered an offensive defenseman, having taken only 46 shots in 47 games.

In a YouTube clip, Yevenko says his role model is his dad. He then goes on to show his sense of humor, saying that he wouldn't want to say who is his best friend on the team was because the other members of the team would get jealous since they all want to be his best friend. When asked who the best-looking player on the team is, he quips that after himself it's (goaltender) Ryan Massa.

The addition of Yevenko is a good match-up with current UMass freshman defenseman Adam Phillips, who goes 6-5 3/4.